


the beginning of what could be beautiful

by rubyblue



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: M/M, im sorry i couldnt find anywhere to include jisung, its supposed to be fluff but
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-24
Updated: 2019-01-24
Packaged: 2019-10-15 14:50:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17530778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rubyblue/pseuds/rubyblue
Summary: jeno asks jaemin to babysit his neighbor's younger cousin, to which he happily accepts, only to realise later that he's dealing with a child with no self-control. but in the process, he meets the said neighbor and jaemin doesnt regret his decision at all.





	the beginning of what could be beautiful

**Author's Note:**

> well here's another one 
> 
> again, not the greatest but enjoy!

jaemin sighs for what feels like the hundredth time. he stares into the pantry, eyeing the mess zhong chenle is making. the toddler is reaching for the pack of gummy bears jaemin had deliberately placed on the higher shelf. he mentally kicks himself, he should have hid it on the top shelf instead. in his attempt to retrieve it, chenle manages to pull out a whole container of cookies, a box of cereal and half carton of eggs - dragging them off the shelf before throwing them to the ground. 

"god why," jaemin whispers to himself. he takes a seat on the kitchen stool and takes a deep breath. when jeno had asked jaemin to babysit his neighbor's brother, he didnt hesitate to say yes because boy, jaemin absolutely adores kids. zhong chenle might be an exception because he's about to lose his mind. he has only been here for three hours and chenle has managed to exhaust him, mentally and physically. he's usually good with kids but not so much for this one. 

the sound of glass shattering breaks jaemin out of his thoughts and the first thing he sees is a pile of red on the ground and he's about to panic when he realises its just tomato paste. chenle has the audacity to smile cheekily at him and jaemin has had enough. 

"okay, thats a time out for you," jaemin says as he walks over to the toddler, carefully avoiding the fragments of glass on the floor, and carries chenle into his arms. chenle starts to cry but jaemin's not having it. he puts the younger into his crib despite all the kicking and screaming, and in a firm voice he tells him, "i want you to think about what you did and why its wrong. i'll let you out in ten minutes time."

and ten minutes later, jaemin finds chenle asleep. "thank god," jaemin says to himself. he heads back to the kitchen to clean up the mess chenle made and almost gets the shock of his life when he sees someone else in the pantry.

"jesus!"

turns out, he's not the only one who's shocked to death.

"what, where?!"

the two share a brief moment of silence before breaking into a fit of laughter, realising how silly they've just sounded. 

"so, jeno asked you to take his place today, huh?" renjun asks once they've settled down. he crouches down next to jaemin, sweeping away the glass fragments with one of those mini-sweeper. 

jaemin smiles, "yeah, he told me to watch chenle until some guy called renjun comes back. i assume that's you?" renjun nods, "yup, you're only supposed to watch him until i get back. i'll clean this up, you can leave if you want to," jaemin shakes his head, "its fine, i'll help you out. besides, its not like i've got anything better to do anyway," jaemin doesnt need to look at renjun to hear the playfulness in his voice when he tells him, "great, we can suffer this misery together."

jaemin smiles wider. that sounds like a good idea.

renjun hands jaemin a glass of orange juice, before plopping onto the couch next to him. jaemin takes a sip of his drink before shifting his attention to renjun, "so, you and jeno, neighbors?" renjun nods, "known each other since we were kids. he's the bestest pal anyone could ever ask for, to be honest," jaemin hums in agreement, "for sure. sometimes i think he deserves better friends," renjun laughs, finally meeting jaemin's gaze, "from what i heard, i dont entirely disagree."

the pair spends the next few hours getting to know each other before jaemin realises he has to leave. renjun sees him out and they say their goodbyes for the evening. "its a shame that you dont go to the same school as us. i think the rest would enjoy your company as much as i did today, especially donghyuck," renjun smiles, "i've heard alot about him, i heard he likes mark lee," jaemin's eyes widen in surprise, "you know him?" 

"jaemin, we go to the same school,"

"you're attending neo tech international?"

renjun narrows his eyes, there's a hint of awkwardness when he answers, "yes? i mean, i am from china... thats where majority of the foreigners in this neighborhood goes. you do know that mark's canadian, right?" jaemin echoes the awkward tone, "yeah...?" 

then it hits him, "oh, okay i get it. neo tech is for the koreans and neo tech international... okay yeah, duh, international. im an idiot," to his surprise, renjun doesnt laugh at his silliness, instead, he smiles with what jaemin interprets as adoration in his eyes. 

renjun shakes his head, as if teasing jaemin's belated realisation. "anyway, jaemin. i really enjoyed your company too and thanks for taking care of chenle while i wasnt around. you're the first to give him a time out but i think the little brat deserves it," renjun says, hint of playfulness evident in his voice again. jaemin nods and takes a step away from the doorstep. he offer renjun one more smile, "so i guess i'll see you around?"

renjun tilts his head to the side, a teasing smile forming on his lips, "yeah, i guess you will," 

"are you actually flirting with me right now? because if you are, you're not doing a very good job," jaemin comments with his eyebrows raised in amusement, "but im not saying its not working,"

renjun merely laughs, shaking his head at how silly they're being again. "you should go, jaemin, its getting late,"

jaemin nods. he slowly backs away from the doorstep and renjun waves at him.

"oh, by the way, renjun?" 

"yeah?"

jaemin sends him a wink, "it was nice meeting you," and he goes off, not allowing renjun a chance to counter.

renjun's pretty sure he looks like an idiot smiling at the doorway right now but he doesnt care. he watches until jaemin walks further and eventually out of his sight before he closes the door. leaning his head against it, he whispers to nobody in particular.

"it was nice meeting you too."

his moment is ruined by jeno's terrible habit of not ringing the doorbell or knocking before stepping foot into his home.

**Author's Note:**

> im so used to writing angst that i have no idea how fluff fics are supposed to be


End file.
